Perhaps the greatest mix of design talent the Middlecott Sketchbattle Experiment™ has ever assembled will fight to the death on the main floor of world famous St. Andrew’s Hall Tuesday night January 16th. And while we do not expect any to have physical injuries from 3 rounds of sketching (other than blisters on their fingers), we cannot say the same for their egos. As per usual, students and professionals alike will compete in three 30 minute rounds with roughly half eliminated after every round. So, without further delay, read on to meet the sketch-battlers……Continue reading →

There is no better place for a Sketch-battle, than a building made famous by rap battles, St Andrew’s Hall. On Tuesday, January 16th, 2018, designers from around the globe will compete against last year’s returning champion and the Las Vegas and Los Angeles winners in “The Fight Club of Design”. An interesting note is that this is just 2 days short of the 80 years’ anniversary of the first meeting in the building.

Normally, to find the center of automotive design, you have to come to Detroit, home of Harley Earl and Virgil Exner. But for a singular evening in November, the center of the entire automotive design universe was at AutomobilityLA in Los Angeles as part of the Middlecott Sketchbattle Experiment™ presented by BASF. 17 sketch-battlers fought it out over three rounds to determine the best-of-the-best and crown the new Sketchmaster. Read on to find out who won……Continue reading →

Last year the Sketchbattle world was shocked as the first ever professional to take the overall win. John A. Frye, Digital Design Lead at Honda bested the field over 3 rounds of sketching to take home the title of Sketchmaster, the title belt, $2,500 cash and a killer stereo system. We sat down with John to ask home our standard bank of 10 questions. Here are his responses……

Over the past few years and events, The Middlecott Sketchbattle Experiment™ has raised thousands of dollars for charities that give back to the local community. Detroit is traditionally for Project Beautiful Inside and Out, a charity that helps women and children in Detroit-area shelters. For the first Las Vegas event we raised money for Drive ONE, a charity that helps disadvantaged youths learn vocational skills related to the auto industry. And in the near future we expect to be raising money for Bryan Thompson’s Design Scholarship. But for Los Angeles our charity of choice is The Petersen Museum.

In keeping with the theme of Thanksgiving week, I was disappointed to learn that the Sunday after black Friday does not have it’s own name. But luckily, I stumbled across a movement to call it “Sofa Sunday”, and to me that kind of fits with the image of the 8 professional designers entered in the Middlecott Sketchbattle Experiment™ Los Angeles presented by BASF sitting back, confidently, and just waiting for the competition to begin. Obviously, they are probably just as nervous and excited as the students, so here they are……..Continue reading →